All Grown Up
by Sare Liz
Summary: Yes, Alice chose to leave. But what if someone chose to follow? ...movieverse, Alice/Hatter, one-shot.


**Title**: All Grown Up  
**Author**: Sare Liz  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own them, but they are in the public domain. :) So... hey. :)  
**Universe**: Tim Burton Movie  
**Beta**: Colleen. Isn't she lovely?

* * *

I've always loved little Alice. Even though she's a far sight from 'little Alice' anymore, nearly forgotten her old Nurse, Nan. I heard she was going off on some damn-fool adventuring today, off on one of those big clipper ships or some such, the ones her father used to own, going off as if she were a lad of nearly twenty instead of a young lady of good breeding. But still, that's why I was here.

I've always loved little Alice. She does look fine today. I didn't go over to stand near the party of those that came to see her off. I wasn't trying to give myself airs. I was only her old Nan in the nursery. I saw Jim who drove them here, though, and he saw me. We gave each other a nod. That was enough.

I've always loved little Alice. Her family came and went. They saw her on the ship, there was a moment of tears. She smiled. They waved. And then she walked to the front of the ship. A dock hand told me they were a long way yet, until the boat was underway, and though I wasn't sure exactly how long that meant, I meant to stay as long as I could. I couldn't stand that long anymore, not like I used to, but maybe I could sit on one of the crates. I would wait. Alice didn't need to see me. It was just something I had to do. I had to see her off. But her family left the moment she made her way to the front of the ship.

I've always loved little Alice. She's grown up to be such a fine lady, so very handsome. She always was smart as a whip, if a little dreamy. Oh, the tales she would tell in the nursery, once she got of that age! All manner of animals talking and walking, kings and queens, funny stories about chess sets and packs of cards and tea parties. Oh! the tea parties. Alice and her tea parties; for years she would play at having formal tea parties and she would always invite a rabbit, a mouse and a haberdasher. I can still hear her singing out, 'Clean cup! Move down!' and then moving to the next chair. Alice and her dreams were something else. Still, she was always a bright child.

I've always loved little Alice. I watched her on the deck and wondered if she would stay up there the whole time until they were underway, or if she would go down below. I watched and continued to watch, even as her back was turned, as she leaned on the railing. I bet she was dreaming again. If I knew Alice, she was dreaming her dreams again. You can wake the dreamer from her dreams, but you cannot take the dreams out from within her. Lord knows I've tried.

I've always loved little Alice. I smiled when she turned around. It was a silly hope, but maybe she would see me. Maybe she would wave at her old Nan. She didn't, of course. It was a silly hope. Instead she walked toward a man who had just gotten on that big boat. I'd seen him come on - a gentleman to be sure, but I'd never seen him before, not that that amounts to much. Still, I would have remembered hair that red, worn long and tied back as they do. He carried a small piece of luggage that he dropped on the deck the moment Alice turned. I watched as they stared at each other. It became quite clear that they knew one another, as they both made a bee line for the other. I watched as he took up both of her hands in both of his, so apparently they knew each other quite well. I wondered if her mother knew this. I would hazard a guess that she didn't, or else the two might have arrived together. Alice was traveling with no companion, no chaperone. I watched and worried, but maybe for naught, because only moments after they came together and he took her hands in his, suddenly she was embracing him.

I've always loved little Alice. I was a little hurt, thinking that she had gotten married and I hadn't realized. Clearly the man she was embracing was a gentleman otherwise unrelated to her, and they were in public - such a thing even Alice would not do if she were not already married to the man, and really, should she even be doing it then? And then, scandalous! He swung her around himself, all the way around and kissed her thoroughly. Well, if he wasn't her husband, there was a captain on that boat. He soon could be.

I've always loved little Alice. She could be a little mad at times, however, and she needed a grounding influence. I was certain that marriage would be that for her.

* * *

_**End Note:**_ So. Would you care for a slice more madness in your life? Follow me on Twitter (SareLiz). Yes, this was a one-shot, but I'll be finishing 'Frabjous Day' shortly, as well as my magnum opus in another fandom. And... you know I love hearing from you, right? I mean... right?


End file.
